Emergent Meta-Coherence (EMC): A Variational Control Framework for Autonomous Homeostasis in Large-Scale Neutral-Atom Quantum Systems (3,000+ Qubits)

Emergent Meta-Coherence (EMC) is a control-layer architecture designed to address the "Entropy Wall" in large-scale neutral-atom quantum processors (3,000+ qubits). As hardware scales, stochastic atom loss and calibration drift outpace traditional classical control. This paper reframes quantum hardware as an adaptive, homeostatic system by applying the Free Energy Principle and Active Inference to the classical supervisory layer. Key Features of the EMC Framework: Variational Control: Minimizes systemic "surprise" through real-time Bayesian updates. Ship of Theseus Protocol: Enables autonomous, mid-circuit atom replenishment to preserve logical identity without global system resets. Normalized Coherence Index (\mathcal{C}_n): A new heuristic metric for quantifying systemic health and stability in high-density qubit arrays. Layer 1.5 Integration: Operates as a pre-conditioning supervisor that suppresses physical drift to maintain error rates below the threshold for Quantum Error Correction (QEC). Included Files: Technical White Paper: The full theoretical framework, mathematical axioms, and architectural pillars. emc_engine.py (Reference Implementation): A Python-based simulation demonstrating the framework's ability to maintain qubit population homeostasis and systemic coherence over 500+ timesteps compared to a decaying baseline model. This work provides a foundational roadmap for achieving autonomous stability in the next generation of reconfigurable atom arrays. Reference ID: UFT-2026-EMC-ZENODO-FINAL